City Manager Ryan Cotton said public safety records show investigators have been at the inn 39 times this year and have had 227 calls for service there since 2009 for a laundry list of crimes from property destruction to assault.

The number of responses there, and at the nearby Economy Inn where officers have been called 396 times in the past three years, is drawing the attention of city leaders. They say it's a concern beyond the recent drug lab bust.

“It’s a cancer in the community,” Councilwoman Nancy DeBoer said this week while discussing the police complaints at the Wooden Shoe.

The problems aren't limited to law enforcement activity, city leaders said.

The city has frequent complaints about conditions at the Wooden Shoe, including reports of no running water, missing covers on electrical outlets and bed bugs. The city’s Neighborhood and Community Services Department, which handles inspections, has handled 18 complaints where violations were noted since 2009, including an incident in May when water was shut off to the motel because it had failed to pay the bill, department director Phil Meyer said.

“That was corrected quickly, but it was a violation,” Meyer said. “You’ve got to keep your water operating. It was taken care of. That hasn’t been a continuing problem.”

That incident led City Manager Ryan Cotton to send a letter to motel management, warning the establishment could lose its lodging license if violations continued.

“It’s no longer something that can be tolerated,” Cotton said.

Meyer noted that while some complaints received at City Hall do involve issues involving violation of city code, other complaints aren’t addressed under city laws, such as stains on the sheets and pillows.

“They may not be pleasant, you may not like them, but they’re not a violation,” Meyer said.

The Wooden Shoe’s lodging license expires in April, with an inspection planned at that time unless more complaints are received at City Hall, Cotton said.